Photos by Taylor Vollrath
Christopher Calimlim is the builder of a true showstopper. His 1998 Toyota Supra has only been on the streets of Honolulu, Hawaii, for three years, but since then, it has competed in 12 shows and has almost always landed in first place.
“Besides displaying the pinnacle years of Toyota’s performance, nothing can match the iconic bodylines and legendary 2JZ-GTE motor from the fourth generation Supra,” says Calimlim.
Pushing out 495 horsepower and 433 lb-ft of torque at 19 psi, while also creating an exclusive interior and exterior setup, Calimlim recalls the moment his intention of only making minor modifications changed.
“After a few months [of ownership] the stock sequential twin turbo system failed,” Calimlim explains. “For most it would be the worst feeling, but to me it was a blessing in disguise. We took out the stock turbos and replaced the system with a Boost Logic Stage 2 kit, utilizing a single 6765 Precision turbo mated to a GReddy three-row radiator, Tial wastegate and blow-off valve, and a four-inch Boost Logic exhaust and down-pipe.”
The Supra has gone through its share of different brands and parts, but there is one brand to which Calimlim has remained loyal throughout – Volk Racing. His first set were 18-inch GT-7s, but that soon changed to a pair of 19-inch GT-Cs. The car currently sits on Volk’s new G50 wheels, also 19-inch.
His favorite modification, on the other hand, is the Air Force air suspension system. This is in part due to the constant road work, construction, and horribly designed parking lot structures around his town, as well as the ease of lowering the Supra while doing maintenance.
Social media has become an integral part of getting your project out to the public’s eye, as evident through Tuner Battlegrounds, but only so many of those posts reach the influencers one would hope to contact.
“Having famous people like Manabu Orido, Fredric Aasbø, or JJ Dubec approve of the car really means a lot to me,” Calimlim says.
Calimlim shows no signs of slowing down with an abundance of additional modifications planed for the future, and from what we can only assume, plenty of more car shows to compete in.
#TBGLIVE WINNER | HOT IMPORT NIGHTS: HAWAII (HONOLULU, HI)
TOTAL VOTES: 263
POPULAR VOTE: 51%
REACH: 58,923
IMPRESSIONS: 77,633
@tunerbattlegrounds @hotimportnights
ESSENTIALS
OWNER: Christopher Calimlim
VEHICLE: 1998 Toyota Supra
LOCATION: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
ENGINE: Toyota 2JZ-GTE 3.0L I-6
HORSEPOWER: 495 hp
TORQUE: 433 lb-ft
CLUB: SMG HAWAII
ENGINE & PERFORMANCE
- 6765 Precision Turbo turbocharger
- 4-inch cold air intake
- K&N air filter
- Steel braided lines (oil drain, oil feed)
- Tial (MV-R 44-mm wastegate, Q 50-mm blow-off valve)
- GReddy (3-row front-mount intercooler, cam gear cover, boost cut controller)
- Unorthodox cam gears
- Power House Racing upper radiator hose
- Mishimoto X-Line 3-row radiator
- Titek carbon fiber (diverter plate, spark plug cover)
- AEM (Tru-Boost controller, wideband 02 sensor)
- MAP ECU3
EXHAUST
- Boost Logic 4-inch stainless steel (exhaust, down-pipe, mid-pipe)
- DEI titanium exhaust wrap
DRIVETRAIN
- Power House Racing shifter
- Mishimoto transmission cooler
WHEELS/TIRES/BRAKES
- Volk Racing G50 wheels - 19x9.5 (f), 19x10.5 (r)
- Toyo Proxes T1 Sport tires - 235/35 R19 (f), 265/30 R19 (r)
- R1 Concepts BBK – 356mm 2-piece drilled & slotted rotors w/ 6-piston caliper (f), 330-mm 2-piece drilled & slotted rotors w/ 4-piston caliper w/ e-brake option (r)
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
- Air Force air suspension system
- Stainless steel 5-gallon tank
- Accuair E-level management
- Viair 444C compressors (2) TRD strut bar
EXTERIOR
- Shine Auto Project Spec-R widebody kit
- Carbon fiber (front splitter, canards, front bumper, wide fenders, fender guards, side skirts, side splitter, rear diffuser, diverter, vortex generator, roof spoiler)
- Varis Ridox canards
- Seibon Carbon KB-style carbon fiber hood
- AeroCatch carbon fiber hood latch
- Top Secret Japan carbon fiber GT2 wing
- Big Country Labs wing extension
- GZA Racing wiper delete kit
- Car Shop Glow (turn signals, taillights)
- Hyper White HID (headlights, fog lights)
- LED side markers
INTERIOR
- Sparco (Torino seats, 4-point racing harness, harness bar)
- Nardi “Orido-Style” steering wheel
- Power House Racing shift knob
- Pro Spec Imports (Series 1 11-piece chrome dash ring set, S1 clock stainless steel face plate, A/C & temperature stainless steel faceplate, billet A/C dials, stainless steel gauge trim)
- Custom air tank cover
- AccuAir custom mounted remote
- NRG quick release
AUDIO & MULTIMEDIA
- Pioneer SPHDA210 touchscreen multimedia receiver
- Optima battery
SPONSERS
- Accuair, Air Force Suspension, Big Country Labs, Car Shop Glow, Final Form USA, Forever Motorsports Hawaii, Mackin Industries, Mishimoto, Pro Spec Imports, R1 Concepts, Seibon Carbon, Shine Auto, Project, Smart Wax Hawaii, Toyo Tires
Contributors: Adam Steinberg, Taylor Vollrath
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